Just Use Me
by Twin Kats
Summary: Roxas merged with Sora and Axel found himself facing a crossroads. His choice will change the fate of everyone, but Sora won't mind being used; everyone used everyone after all. Even 'innocent' Sora. / MildCross FF7 / AkuSor / Formerly Used
1. Chapter One

**Just Use Me  
><strong>_Chapter One  
><em>By Twin Kats / twinkats / Twin-Kats / Ash Sullivan

Axel couldn't help but collapse to the ground completely after the Corridor dropped him off in the 'real' world again. He pounded his fist against the cement, his face screwed up and his teeth grit tightly. He wanted to cry, to scream and rage about the injustice of it all.

"_Let's meet again, in the next life."_

"_Yeah. I'll be waiting."_

Instead he just felt empty. He was dead inside. There was an _ache_ in his chest, but that was it. Just an ache. Axel couldn't shed any tears, despite how much pain he thought he should be feeling. He didn't feel anything except for that empty ache. Nobodies were more 'heartless' than a simple Heartless.

After a while Axel just stopped moving. He breathed out heavy, almost gasping, breaths and he trembled. His forehead laid against the cool cement of the basement as he stared unseeingly at the ground. He should be sobbing, great and gasping and broken sobs, but he couldn't. He just couldn't.

Axel closed his eyes. The tremble to his body subsided and began to breathe normally again. The ache died down as his body once more settled from the surge of where his mind demanded an emotional response and none had come. A minute longer and Axel pulled himself up; his shoulders were slumped as if he had a great weight on them. He glanced around to the computers, the two exists, and the device that had digitized Roxas.

Green slid shut again as Axel took one more steadying breath. He stood up sharper, taller, and glanced around once more with an emotionless, cold facade. This time he spotted what he had missed earlier: a little blond witch of a Nobody that stood before the computer screens almost sadly. She didn't glance to Axel, and she didn't speak. Not at first.

"What are you doing here, Naminé?" Axel demanded. His voice was softer, but it was emotionally dead. The baseline for a Nobody; they had to _force_ inflexion into the words after all. Humans were lucky that they didn't need to bother trying. It came so naturally to them.

Axel wanted to be human again; he wanted to be Lea and to have his next life with Roxas. He couldn't.

"The computer is shutting down," Naminé said. Her words were gentle, almost sad. She had always spoken with such sadness. "Sora will wake up soon. Donald and Goofy too. Roxas..."

Axel clenched a fist; it was an entirely involuntary action brought on by memories of rage even though no rage raced through his veins like a burning fire.

"You've succeeded then," Axel said. "Roxas' faded away."

Naminé shook her head. She clasped her hands before her bosom and bowed her head. The blond haired teenager still didn't turn towards Axel as she spoke, "He made the choice. No one made it for him. Roxas _chose_ to be whole."

Axel scoffed softly, again a motion to a memory with no actual feeling. "Whole? You gave him that dribble, didn't you. We _can't_ be whole again. We're destined to fade away, to be forgotten. It is the fate of a Nobody."

"You sound like DiZ." The words were probably meant to be like a slap to the face. Axel took a step back and tightened his fist. "That's what he told Roxas, but it's not true. Roxas is...as he was, and I envy him for that. He can be whole." There was an unspoken _and I can't_ from her. Axel averted his gaze subconsciously as Naminé turned to regard him calculatingly.

"What?" the red head demanded.

Naminé nibbled her lip. It was a very Roxas like gesture; Axel wanted to be nostalgic about it. "You have a minute before Donald and Goofy wake up," she said as one of the Corridors grew to life behind her. Axel took several steps towards Naminé. He towered over her but she didn't cower. She never cowered before him.

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked. Naminé reached up and trailed a finger along the twin marks beneath his eyes and gave Axel an almost bittersweet smile. The red headed frowned and his brow furrowed. His eyes were blank despite that his face reflected confusion.

Another memory, then, of another emotion. Naminé leaned up and placed a short, chaste kiss to Axel's lips. It felt like Roxas kissed him; tasted like Roxas did. Axel was almost fooled for a second. Almost.

"Goodbye, Axel," Naminé said and stepped away. She vanished into the Corridor. It swirled shut behind her and left Axel alone in the room.

Axel touched his lips lightly and stared at the spot where the Corridor had been. He blinked. "Why would she do that?" No answer was forthcoming, not from his memories or remembered motions and feelings. The red head shook his head and held up a hand towards the opposite wall. He stretched lightly into himself, ready to pull the Corridor up to take him back to Never Was or elsewhere.

Elsewhere was probably better. If he returned to Never Was Xenmas was likely to make him a Dusk for failing. Just the mere thought of his Superior brought back the urge that he should feel rage towards the man. Axel could remember how and why he had been made this way, and he thought he should be angry. He wasn't.

He lowered his hand after a second. Naminé had said that Donald and Goofy would wake in a minute, but she hadn't explained why she told him. Axel couldn't understand. Was there something Naminé wanted him to do, and why? There was no motivation that he could see; in fact he should just leave all together. It would be better in the end. He could hide away and devise a plan to fix all this, to make things _right_ again.

Axel _needed_ Roxas. He needed the rush of _something_ the kid brought to his system. Quietly and to himself he could admit he was an addict for the younger Nobody. There had always been something different about Roxas—something even Saïx had recognized. Saïx hadn't liked whatever it was; he claimed it would change them. Axel thought that whatever was different about Roxas couldn't have been so bad as what Saïx made it out to be. It wasn't malicious, at least, and that's all that Axel needed to know.

So what if it ruined a longstanding relationship. Saïx wasn't Ïsa, not anymore. Lea had loved Ïsa, and in turn Axel had those strong memories of his old friend. Perhaps not the emotions or the attachment they signified, but the physicality of everything had still been there. That was before Roxas, before Axel began to realize just how different Saïx was from Ïsa. They didn't even _think_ the same.

Or maybe they did and Axel was the one who thought differently these days. Axel didn't _care_ though because he couldn't. He didn't need Saïx like he needed Roxas, after all. So what if his priorities took a bit of a shift. It didn't matter in the end. None of it did.

In one universe that was the end of that. Axel raised his hand and pulled open the Corridor and left. Donald and Goofy woke from their year long slumber and made their way to the main chamber where Sora continued to dream. Sora would wake and then his adventure would start all over. They'd traverse the Worlds and fight the Nobodies while they searched for Riku, Kairi and Mickey. Axel would go on to kidnap Kairi. He'd be ambushed and attacked by Saïx and the only reason why he would be left alive was because of the memory of what they had.

In return Axel would do everything in his power to mess up what Xenmas and his once colleague's had planned. He'd reveal secrets to Sora and even go so far as to toss away his plans to remake Roxas. In the end Axel would save Sora from the Dusks and fade away as a result. Perhaps somehow that would've made him whole again and he _wouldn't_ fade away. Perhaps somehow it would be revealed that it wasn't a Nobody's fate to fade, but to be reunited and become human once more.

All of that however didn't matter because in this universe, with this Axel, something else happened. He raised his hand yes, and he summoned the Corridor, yes, but he didn't vanish out of the Mansion. Instead this Corridor led right to the main room where Sora slumbered. Axel stepped out and raised his gaze up towards the Pod. He eyed it critically for a minute as he debated the merits of just taking Sora for himself.

After all, Sora and Roxas were the same being in the end. Axel could vaguely remember feeling something akin to amusement in Castle Oblivion. Or what he'd _thought_ was emotion at the time. Saïx had set him straight afterward; he had explained it was a memory or something, and for a while Axel had avoided Roxas although he couldn't explain why. Then that _need_ had rose up and reared its ugly head and Axel couldn't stay away.

The particulars didn't matter. What mattered was if _Sora_ could give him what _Roxas_ did, and if there was a chance dare he take it? After a second longer Axel stepped forward and smashed his fist into the release panel. If there was a chance that all this could be resolved now, then he'd take it. Damn the consequences and the Worlds. They didn't matter.

The Pod bloomed open like a flower. It was poetic and very much something Naminé probably added for some artistic flair. Axel couldn't see how if the Pod bloomed was relevant or not to its design otherwise. Once it had fully settled open and the mechanical whir came to a silent halt he wasted no time in hoping up onto the device and picking Sora up from where he floated in the misty center.

Axel moved to toss the kid over his shoulder and then paused. That elicited all sorts of memories of emotional response that his body wanted to react to, but couldn't. He didn't understand _why_ tossing the brat over the shoulder was something he had to reject as an option, but it was. Instead Axel hefted the teenager bridal style. At least this didn't bring forth a rush of memories and a want to _feel_ when he had the inability to do so.

Axel tugged the Corridor up around him and Sora, it was trickier to do when his hands were preoccupied with something, and with a swirl of the wispy shadows they were gone. Not a second later did Donald and Goofy step into the chamber. They saw the Pod, bloomed open like a flower, but nothing else. The place was completely empty.

It was here that Sora's fate, and the fates attached to his, changed.

Donald let out a squawk of annoyance. Obviously Sora had been woken earlier than both he and Goofy, which _wasn't_ in the game plan. He rounded on Goofy, bill opened to let loose a slew of complaints, but it clacked shut at Goofy's obvious serious face.

"Donald," Goofy said, every inch the Knight he was for once. The Court Magician stilled and stood tall. He gave a slight nod to Goofy to signify he was listening. "Check for magical residue. I'll look through the upper floors. If he's not here then we'll search the town."

"And if the brat woke up early and ran off?" Donald asked snidely, his feathered arms crossed and his foot tapping against the ground with barely restrained patience.

Goofy shook his head, his muzzle tugged down into a sharp frown. "Sora wouldn't run off. Almost a years worth of travel should have taught you that. Gwarsh he has more mobility than that."

Donald rolled his eyes and pulled out his staff even as he said, "You mean he's far too noble." His entire frame shook with a rumbling growl. "I don't trust him." Donald stomped off to concentrate his magic.

Goofy sighed and turned around to check the rest of this building. Sora was a Keyblader, he wouldn't abandon what he perceived as his duty without reason. Granted Goofy could understand Donald's wariness. The boy had never been trained, he wasn't apprenticed under a Master, and he hadn't taken the Mark of Mastery Exam. All that left was the worrying possibility on just what Sora could become, unrestrained and unrestricted. However Goofy didn't think there really was a danger with Sora. The kid's heart was too strong to fall. It was too pure.

Between the two Goofy was the optimist. He believed in the better future. Donald was the pessimist, always wary of what could happen. Donald believed that things were just inevitable. It was their differences that allowed them to be such a good team for Mickey. Sometimes though Goofy felt the underlying stubbornness in Donald's belief did more harm then good. Especially like now, unable to view Sora without some form of suspicion.

If Sora had run away, Goofy wouldn't blame him. He was, after all, just a kid.

The search of the upper floors didn't yield anything to Sora's whereabouts at first. The Knight looked around in a cursory check of the rooms, searching under and in furniture to be certain Sora wasn't playing some odd form of hide and seek for some reason. The kid wasn't anywhere. He did find the White Room rather odd, with its various hand drawn pictures.

Goofy wondered who drew them and where the artist was now. They left behind a sketchpad with an unfinished picture of some sort of Castle. It looked kind of dreary. At lot of the pictures had two guys in black cloaks. One of them was blond and looked kind of like Aqua's friend Ventus. The other reminded Goofy of one of the residents of Radiant Garden before the accident. That poor kid just vanished, like so many others.

Other pictures had himself, Donald, and Sora, or Sora with Ventus. One even had Sora with the red head. There were a few others of Kairi, Paopu fruit, and a few of the worlds they visited. Some strange black haired girl was featured in one or two of the drawings. She looked so sad. However the room didn't give him any hints to where Sora was so Goofy forced himself to move on.

That had been the only room with anything remotely interesting. Everything else was broken or in the process of decay. Defeated Goofy headed back toward the basement. He stopped before the computer he'd passed by on his way up and stared at it contemplatively. Perhaps it had some answers as to where Sora was; the hardware looked rather familiar at any rate.

Certain that Donald was most likely still preoccupied practicing whatever mystical arts in search of a sign of Sora Goofy stepped up to the terminal and clacked at a few of the keys. He understood computers better than Donald did, but he was nowhere near Max's level with the electronics. A small smile crossed his muzzle. It'd been a while since he'd seen Max; not since before Mickey ran off, in fact. He'd been kept far too busy to even talk to the boy.

A few more keystrokes brought up the computers surveillance system and memory banks. Goofy frowned in concentration as he worked. After a minute he was able to access the recorded archived footage. This was something he knew how to handle.

Goofy spent minutes rewinding and replaying footage from the past day. Every time he was left with more and more questions and no answers. Unfortunately he couldn't access any further back, unable to figure out the confounded passwords and other security measures. Whoever put him, Donald, and Sora here went to great lengths to protect what they were doing.

Disturbed Goofy left the computer and headed back to the main room. He'd show Donald what he found and try and get the Magician's opinion on the situation. However even Goofy knew there wasn't much more he or Donald could do without finding out where they were first, and if they couldn't find a Gummi Ship or another way off this world and to more familiar equipment...Goofy feared they'd be stranded and with little options of what to do next.

* * *

><p>Axel hadn't been sure where at first to take Sora that would be considered <em>safe<em>. It had to be a world that the Organization wouldn't bother looking on, which meant it had to be a world that as a whole they tried to avoid. This meant it had to be one of the outlying worlds that were mostly closed from the rest. Since everything seemed to spiral out from around Disney Castle, connecting one world to another through the previously abandoned Roads, Axel was forced to find a World that didn't use the Roads.

He debated going to the Lanes Between but those were dangerous without proper protections and sadly Axel lacked those protections. He could take a Corridor to Oblivion but Castle Oblivion was a maze of tricks and mental puzzles that would drive anyone insane if they stayed for too long. He couldn't take Sora to the Mysterious Tower for rather obvious reasons—even _if_ that'd be one of the safest places around Axel didn't doubt that the old Keyblader Yen Sid knew far more than would be healthy for his continued existence.

This left to one obvious choice to the red head. He only hoped that Saïx would keep their 'pact' to ignore the place. Oh sure Axel would be breaking it, they did agree that _this_ particular world would be entirely off limits. The connections it held to their past and memories meant far too much to risk it for whatever desires Xenmas had, and whatever lingered between Nobody and Somebody urged them to pretend it didn't exist. So they did.

This made it the perfect place to take Sora to both recover and figure out the next plan of action. So Axel tugged the Corridor to open a pathway to a place he hadn't visited in a long, long time. He stepped out into an alleyway. The ground was mostly dirt and muck and the walls of the side buildings were smooth. Most worlds built places out of brick or wood, but these buildings were essentially cement legos stacked on top of one another. This particular alley was shadowed by overhead grating that created a walkway between the two buildings. Sunlight streamed down through thin little rays.

Funny, he could hardly remember the sun ever being truly felt on this world. Wary Axel stepped out of the alley and raised his head to the sky. There were clouds, but they were light and fluffy. The sky was a light shade of blue. He tried to place his memories to what he was seeing, but they didn't completely connect. He could remember the sky being covered in clouds and smog with a faint green glow. The ground below him had never been dirt and cement, but hard steel. The only time he'd ever seen a sky like this was when he boarded the Gummi Ship.

Axel let out a soft, "Heh," at the memory. He thought there should be some sort of nostalgia, and for a minute he thought he actually _felt_ it, but the red head shook his head. He shifted Sora in his arms and let his lips curl into a smirk that didn't reach his eyes. "I guess things change, huh, Roxas?"

With a shake of his head Axel started down the street. At least the street names were familiar, and if he had to guess this place was ordered just like he remembered even if everything looked different. He did get stared at as he walked, probably for his shocking red hair and the kid snoozing limply away in his arms. Axel didn't pay them any mind as he headed for Sin Street. He reached the building he desired to find that it looked almost exactly the same as it did when he left. Certainly a bit more damaged and busted up, but it was still recognizable to the red head.

Booted touched upon the stoop as Axel walked up the steps slowly. He could remember running around this stoop as a kid, beneath a glowing green sky. He could remember laughing and tossing his frisbees at Ïsa who would growl back in annoyance at having his homework interrupted. He could still remember the tangy smells and taste upon his tongue, a sign of the pollutants in the air. People got used to it after a while.

Axel shook his head and kept the smile that didn't reach his eyes plastered across his lips as he knelt down beside the door and leaned Sora against the wall of the building. He stood and stretched and then scratched the back of his head in a remembered gesture.

"Now let's see...the spare key should be under the mat," Axel said to himself, kneeling down to check under the doormat. It was empty. "Nope. Okay, fake rock, then." He never understood why they had a fake rock. Rocks were _rare_ in this city which would make it an obvious key hiding spot. When the fake rock revealed no key, but a timer, Axel rolled his eyes. "Right. Not the fake rock. Whoops." He'd forgotten about the rock being a trap, of course. With a shake of his head he deactivated the timer and stood up. "Okay. Where is that damn key?"

A forced sigh of annoyance escaped Axel's lips as he planted his hands on his hips and looked around the face of the building. Not in the doorway, or the molding. Definitely wasn't hidden in the gutters, they'd scraped that place when the key accidentally washed down the drain. The left windowsill was a no-go and there wasn't any hidden hidey-holes in the railing that were optional. He remembered those were booby-trapped like the rock. Green eyes slid over to the right windowsill and a smirk curled at his lips. Bingo.

Axel forced the fondness into his tone as he said, "Dick," because he was certain to say that word any other way would sound wrong even if he didn't feel any fondness over the whole thing. He flipped open the fake top to the windowsill where taped neatly to the underside was the key. Gloved fingers peeled the key away and settled the fake top back down.

It was a simple step of key in lock and a now opened door before Axel scooped Sora back up into his arms and stepped inside. He shut the door behind him but didn't bother to relock it. If anyone was stupid enough to come inside it wasn't his fault what befell them.

A swift glance at the living room told him the place was exactly as he'd left it, which meant that Ïsa's room—the spare room, but Ïsa had been over enough that it was practically his room—was probably still as he'd left it took. Axel decided he wouldn't subject Sora to the spare room until he'd cleared it out of all of Ïsa's junk and figured he could handle the inconvenience of having Sora in his room until he got around to it.

Axel toed upon the door and stepped inside. The place wasn't as dusty as he'd imagine but the red head decided not to complain or look the gift horse in the mouth. Instead he settled Sora onto his bed and then sat down on the edge himself. He allowed his fingers to graze along the slumbering keyblader's cheek with almost fondness.

"Look at this," Axel said. "Finally get you in my bed and you're unconscious. What luck is that, huh, Roxas?" He shook his head. "Whatever. You just take as much time as you need to wake up, kid. Don't rush, I'll handle everything here. Bet you already know that though, don't you? Stupid brat. Always making me do the work to keep you safe when you're perfectly capable on your own."

Axel chuckled to himself and leaned down. He pressed his lips against Sora's and cupped his cheek. The kiss was tender and soft, and Axel had to force himself to pull back. The red head sighed and stood up. "Just don't take too long. You know how I hate waiting, Roxas," he said in parting and slipped out of the room. He had to make this place somewhat habitable for when Sora finally decided to wake up, and that meant figuring out what he needed to purchase first. Everything else could be decided later.

They had all the time in the world now, after all.

* * *

><p><strong>Summary: <strong>Roxas merged with Sora and Axel found himself facing a crossroads. His choice will change the fate of everyone, but Sora won't mind being used; everyone used everyone after all. Even 'innocent' Sora.

_Some of you may or may not recognize the title and summary for this story. Well here's a simple explanation. **Used** is getting a major overhaul as you can no doubt see. When I started this challenge issued by **Inumaru12** I had no real plan or direction of where I was going to go. As a result it floundered and then just sort of died after a while. Well after recently trailers for KH3D I've gotten my mojo for Kingdom Hearts back._

_And a whole slew of plot ideas and whatnot to work with. That induced a sudden influx of plotting and planning for some of my older stuff, **Used** being the most prominent. Thus the overhaul. No doubt you will notice immediate differences, and that's good. This should be better, more mature and better written, than its original counterpart. Chapters will still be fairly short but that's because I'm a silly person and don't like waiting. I don't want to wait to let you followers of mine know that this has been rebooted. I could easily go list out everything Axel plans to buy, and then the subsequent purchasing scenes right away. However we're gonna hold off and maybe ignore all that together because its not really relevant to the plot and would just be chapter fluff right now._

_Yes there will be allusions to other Disney related items as you've no doubt realized by the mention of **Max**. Max is Goofy's son, so...yes, they have family. I'll leave it at that. Also this story will now contain references to Birth By Sleep, obviously, and if you didn't catch the allusion to KH3D shame on you. Go watch the trailers._

_Anyway, I hope you guys have enjoyed the rewrite so far. Please leave a review!_


	2. Chapter Two

**Just Use Me  
><strong>_Chapter Two  
><em>By Twin Kats / twinkats / Twin-Kats / Ash Sullivan

Donald and Goofy had spent hours scouring the Mansion and reviewing the footage left on the computer. Neither could figure out what the two figures were doing in the Mansion, let alone what connection they might've had to the slumbering trio. Goofy had recognized the blond girl from some of the drawings left in the sketchpad, and the red head looked a lot like one of Radiant Garden's missing members, but there was little else.

They branched out into the town. First the two scoured the grounds of the Mansion, and what accessible portions of the forest they could. There weren't any clues to be gained from hunting around there so they slipped into the town. This endeavor proved to be fruitless as well. While the residents of what they learned was Twilight Town were certainly helpful, nobody had seen Sora.

Although apparently the red head and the blond girl had been frequenters of the town for some time on separate, different occasions. Goofy was able to find out, despite Donald's squawking about how 'unnecessary' gathering all this information was, that the red head was known as Axel and he'd often buy Sea Salt Ice Cream from the stories. Sea Salt was apparently a delicacy to Twilight Town. Up until a couple of months ago Axel was often seen in the company of a blond haired kid that sounded oddly like Aqua's friend Ventus.

Ventus had been missing for ten years. Goofy found that puzzling. The girl was called Naminé and was often seen accompanied by a silver haired boy who kept his eyes covered, or a taller hooded man who didn't speak. Goofy was unable to find out much else beside that from Twilight Town's residents. They had been pointed in the direction of the beach and the station as possibilities for Sora's whereabouts, and since he didn't appear to be anywhere in town proper so far Goofy steered Donald towards the station with a smile and a word of thanks.

Donald stomped his feet as they walked. His arms were crossed across his chest and his eyes narrowed in anger. "We shouldn't be interacting with the locals! We must maintain the order, Goofy! What use is anything we've been told anyway?"

Goofy sighed, "We know more now don't we? We know that this Axel's been 'round here before with someone that looks awfully like Ventus, and that the girl prolly lives here too, right? An' we know that something happened a few months back."

Donald let out a growl of annoyance. "So? We don't know anything about what they were doing in the Mansion, what they could know about us! What does knowing their names help, Goofy?"

Goofy shook his head and nudged Donald back into motion again as he replied. "Gwarsh Donald, now that we know their names we can get Max to look them up in the database. You know each world has its own extensively recorded mysteries!"

"HISTORY!" Donald squawked angrily. "It's _history!_"

Goofy rubbed at the side of his cheek in confusion as they passed through the archway to the station. "Isn't that what I said?"

Donald let off a sort of exasperated growl and slapped his palm to his face. Neither dog nor duck noticed Mickey up in the shadows of the Stations roof. The mouse was cloaked in black with the hood up, although he could admit it wasn't much of a disguise. If anyone where to actually _look_ Mickey was pretty certain he'd be ousted. Mouse ears were notoriously difficult to hide.

The King crouched low and waited. His eyes darted back and forth as he tried to puzzle out just what the topic of conversation between his subjects were. Sora was suspiciously absent from their group as well. A laden feeling began to settle in Mickey's gut. Something hadn't _happened_, right? The more that his two most trusted talked, the more Mickey began to doubt Sora's awakening went as smooth as it'd been planned. The longer he waited the more assured he was that something had gone wrong.

Donald and Goofy weren't giving him any information accidentally which wasn't surprising. They were more competent than others often gave them credit. With a frown Mickey flipped off the roof of the station. He needed answers as to the situation. Before either of his old friends could react and cry out his title Mickey shushed them with a sharp look and a quick glance around. Assured that no one was listening he dragged Goofy and Donald over to the wall.

"Where's Sora?" he demanded shortly. He watched as Goofy and Donald exchanged a glance. Donald stomped his foot and let out an angry warble.

"He's been kidnapped!" the duck almost shouted and Mickey had to shush him quickly, eyes narrowed. Before he could demand what Donald meant Goofy intercepted calmly. Mickey focused all of his attention towards his Knight instead.

"We don't know that for sure, Donald," the dog reprimanded. "Gwarsh we don't know much of anything!"

"Explain," Mickey said sharply. It was a command. Goofy nodded.

"Y'see we woke up next to one another an' didn't see Sora so we went lookin'," Goofy replied. "But we didn't find him. All we found was this giant mod—"

"_Pod!_"

"—but no Sora. We checked the rest of the place and even the security system but that'd didn't do much 'cept show us a girl named Naminé and some guy called Axel. A check 'round the town an' there's still no Sora," Goofy finished. "Gwarsh it's lookin' more like he was kidnapped or run away."

Mickey had to withhold a grimace. He should've accounted for this possibility and told Riku. The blond Nobody child had been with the other Keyblader last he checked, but she could always have given him the slip. Mickey wouldn't put it past her if she felt there was a better option she could chase down. That didn't mean that she was in the _right, _especially if she landed Sora in the Organization's clutches!

The young King came to a decision. He said to Donald and Goofy, "You are to board the purple train. It will take you to Master Yen Sid and he'll explain the current state of affairs. From there I want you to head to Hollow Bastion and wait for my orders." Mickey waited a minute for both Donald and Goofy to nod after he'd given his orders. He then asked, "Did you get all that Jiminy?"

The trio began to frown when no answer was forthcoming. Mickey called out, only slightly worried, "Jiminy? Jiminy Cricket?" He glanced around the station, searching for his littler friend. When no reply came again he rounded on Donald and Goofy. "Where's Jiminy?"

Donald and Goofy shared looks of surprise and then shrugged. Jiminy Cricket was also missing.

* * *

><p>The first night Axel spent curled up on the couch. He forced himself to remain away from Sora as much as possible. A flame flickered between his fingers as he worked hard to maintain the distance he felt was needed. Axel required all of his cognitive processes to work out a plan of action for once Sora awoke. He couldn't allow himself to be distracted by the sweet, addictive presence of his young guest.<p>

This was much harder than he'd thought possible, but Axel persevered. Stubborn, Їsa called it, stubborn and hotheaded. Axel didn't always think his plans through, he preferred rushing in and whinging it. That way there was less of a chance of a well made plan going awry. Їsa had respected that, Saїx less so. This time though Axel was going to think the rest of this plot through, if only so he had everything straight in his head for when his old pal was walking around again.

The kid was bound to be confused and scared, maybe a bit hostile. How was he to know Axel was trustworthy? Well he wasn't going to _hurt_ the kid and he'd do his best to keep him alive, but stealing someone in the middle of their slumber didn't really give way to trustworthiness. So first things first, come up with a believable lie. Since Roxas couldn't remember the past year, let alone probably didn't remember being _Roxas_, and their previous encounters he could play on that.

Naminé was at fault for his memories being lost, so he could use her as the scapegoat. He knew she was called a 'witch' by DiZ, heck she even told Axel she'd found the term rather fitting for what she could do. Messing around with someone's heart like that...scary stuff. Axel couldn't help but wonder though if the little blond Nobody was going to escape from DiZ and Riku eventually and make her way them or not. Perhaps on the off chance she did decide to join up in protecting Roxas—she _did _push him towards this outcome—then maybe he should spin the story more towards her being the hapless victim.

In a way what had happened in Oblivion hadn't been her choice, and she had merely fallen under DiZ's control to correct what she'd messed up anyway. Hapless victim it was, then.

After he puzzled out his plan throughout the night, a Nobody didn't require much sleep if any at all, Axel forced himself to refrain from peeking in on Sora before he headed out into the city. He remained cloaked in his Organization attire if only because it was comfortable and he didn't wish to test if Lea's old clothes fit or not. The red headed pyromaniac spent until lunch shopping for clothes for both himself and Sora as well as hunting down groceries.

Axel couldn't really cook except out of necessity. He was more likely to burn down the kitchen if he wasn't careful, but until the Organization he'd lived with people who didn't understand the words 'edible' and 'sanitary' when it came to food. He included Їsa whole heartedly in that category; some of the more mentally scarring meals had come from his witty, sarcastic friend.

He took his time shopping because Axel knew better than most that gossip was one of the greater sources to learn what history had changed since you last visited a place. The Organization gave him a lot of the icky jobs thanks to his ability to assimilate into a culture quickly enough. So Axel lingered and picked up a few details about the city—Edge of Midgar, apparently Midgar had been smashed into ruins a while back—and a few of the other current world affairs.

Funny the amount of stuff that happens when you run off for the Academy. Gods he must've missed all the _fun—_Axel paused as he realized he was thinking like he was Lea again. He felt the surge of _need—_a need for an emotion that didn't exist in his being anymore. He wanted to feel disgust, at himself and what he was and wasn't. Axel wasn't Lea, he couldn't _be_ Lea, and he wanted to be disgusted at how even in his own mind he slipped and _forgot_. For the most part he wore Lea's face, and had Lea's memories, but he was _Axel._

The Flurry of the Dancing _Flames_. He was an _it_. A _Nobody_.

The sudden surge of emptiness practically forced Axel to double over and grip at his chest with a gasp. There wasn't inflection or pain in the sound, it was as dead as he felt. The emptiness was practically overwhelming. It was like when he realized Roxas was gone for _good_. His whole being trembled for a second and a concerned citizen stepped close. They kept their distance—Axel supposed wary about any remnants of that thing called Geostigma he'd heard about—but they still were far too close than he'd want.

"Hey, you okay man?"

Axel turned the full force of his dead gaze towards the person and shifted until he was upright. The movement was smooth and all vestiges of the empty feeling fled from his limbs and that hole became tiny and all-but-forgotten again.

"I'm fine," Axel said. There was no tone, not emotion in his voice. He sounded like a robot, actually, and he forced himself to repeat the words with faked calm and an utterly fake smile. "I'm fine. Just heartburn." He swiftly grabbed his bags and fled back to the safe confine's of his home. He'd forgotten himself. It must be some form of withdrawal. He hadn't gotten to spend too much time in Roxas' presence since he left, after all.

Axel stuffed away the bags and settled himself at Sora's bedside. He relaxed, being in the Keyblader's presence was infinitely better than being without. Even when Sora was asleep Axel felt something—or he _thought_ it was something but that was impossible really—stir deep in the cavernous black hole of emptiness that threatened to consume him.

It felt like a flicker of his _heart_ but Axel didn't believe that. Sora just had too much light, and that trick of light helped him _pretend. _It was easier with him here. A ghost of a smile crossed his face.

"_Today makes two-hundred and fifty-five."_

"_What's that about?"_

"_It's been that many days since I first joined the Organization."_

"You counted the days when you were with us," Axel said softly, stroking back a small portion of Sora's hair. "I'll count the days until you are with me again. Today makes two. Got it memorized, Roxas?" He kissed the slumbering teen and slipped from the room.

* * *

><p>Mickey decided that despite the fact that Jiminy was missing he would send his two most loyal and trusted friends off to Yen Sid anyway. They'd gotten far enough without Jiminy before, and Jiminy had mostly been assigned to keep track of Sora's progress as an unapprenticed Keyblader. So Donald and Goofy boarded the purple train at the station. It took them out of Twilight Town and into the stars.<p>

They'd never seen the stars through the veil of magic before. Goofy placed a hand against the glass of the window.

"Gwarsh, Sora woulda liked this view," he said quietly. The ride was subdued and quiet after that except for the sound of the train moving along its tracks and the eventual hiss as it came to a stop.

Donald and Goofy stepped down and made their way towards the Tower. Outside of it stood Pete, chuckling about how he'd make Yen Sid a heartless. Donald wasted no time in casting Thundaga on the villain while Goofy whipped his Shield about to destroy the few Heartless that began to rise at the beck and call of Pete. If Sora had been there then perhaps they would've listened more, maybe cracked a few jokes at the expense of Pete and Maleficient.

The battle was over fairly quickly. Pete ran off bellowing his revenge and both dog and duck went about their business and headed up the stairs. There wasn't an ounce of complaint about the Heartless still being out and about, or a word else-wise in fact. Both Donald and Goofy remained silent, but ever vigilant and respectful throughout the entire time spent in Yen Sid's Tower.

When they left aboard the Gummi towards Hollow Bastion, it was with a grim realization that things had gotten worse coming out of their slumber. In response both Donald and Goofy donned their royal attire instead of the humbling civilian clothes they'd both been wearing, and departed Yen Sid's Tower as Royal Knight-Captain Goofy G. Goof, and Royal Court Magician Donald Fauntleroy Duck.

They arrived in Hollow Bastion to little fanfare, not that they expected much of anything. The world was still recovering from its own stint in darkness after all. While Donald cast a few spells to check up on how the inhabitants were doing, and to uncover where they should head off to first, Goofy surveyed the security measures with a critical eye.

"They could tweak the sensitivity a little," the Knight-Captain said calmly, eying the blend of magic and science cautiously. "Gwarsh at the rate they have it, it might attack more than just Heartless and Nobodies."

Next to him Donald opened his eyes and the subtle glow about him faded away. "We need to head to Merlin's house. Hopefully they have a communication bridge open to Disney Castle." Goofy nodded along with Donald's assessment and the two started off towards Merlin's house. Up on the rooftops Yuffie watched the two curiously. She tapped a finger to her cheek and tilted her head.

"Where's Sora?" the young ninja mumbled to herself and promptly took off to warn Leon of their guests. She jumped from rooftop to rooftop with ease, and backflipped off of the roof of Merlin's house. Her fingers splayed out on the ground, one knee bent with her head bowed. The landing probably had more flourish than it needed, but then Yuffie liked showing off.

With a grin she headed inside Merlin's, calling out cheerfully, "Squally! We got guests!"

Leon leaned against the wall, not-quite-napping but he certainly looked it. Tiredly he replied, "It's Leon," and lifted his head with a baleful glare to Yuffie. At Merlin's computer Cid cursed.

"Dammit ya ain't needin' ta shout, brat! Fuck!" Cid slammed his hand into the keyboard and turned, toothpick clenched between his teeth. He wanted his damn smokes back, but the roads to Gaia were closed again. His favorite brand was only sold at Rocket Town, too.

Yuffie stuck out here tongue and held down her lower eyelid. Cid cursed again and turned back to the computer screen. The teenaged ninja laughed her victory.

* * *

><p><strong>Summary: <strong>Roxas merged with Sora and Axel found himself facing a crossroads. His choice will change the fate of everyone, but Sora won't mind being used; everyone used everyone after all. Even 'innocent' Sora.

_I will admit, a fairly focused chapter on everyone but Axel and Sora, but I have my reasons. I figured I should smash out Donald and Goofy and Mickey's tidbits, which I have really and now I can focus on the gritty reality with Sora and Axel and the eventual arrival of Reno and the Turks. Perhaps. It depends on how long I desire Sora to remain asleep this time..._


End file.
